Wrap up warm as temperatures are set to plummet as low as minus 5 overnight, weather watchers are warning.

The Met Office have told Belfast Live it will dip well below freezing, especially in rural areas, thanks in part to clear skies.

Drivers waking up on Friday morning will need to give themselves extra time as it is expected that windscreens could be coated in ice. Rural roads may also be treacherous, especially if they have not been gritted.

A spokesman said: “The good thing is, it’s going to be largely dry today, but tonight it’s becoming a lot colder with temperatures falling below freezing across Northern Ireland. It will be between zero and minus 1 in many places, but inland in rural areas it will fall as low as minus 5, in places like Enniskillen.

“Coastal areas will be less cold and there could be one or two showers here as well. It’s not looking like there will be snow, but there could be a little on higher ground like the Antrim hills or the Mourne Mountains.”

The Met Office says the weekend looks set to be cool too but with an easterly wind adding a wind chill factor which could make it feel like freezing even though temperatures are expected to be around four or five degrees during the day. Saturday will be mainly dry and it will again dip below freezing overnight.